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Fatwa
Jacky was 23 toen ze in Egypte aankwam voor een vakantie met haar vriend Dave. Ze kon onmogelijk vermoeden dat een onschuldige vakantie zou veranderen in een nachtmerrie. Terwijl ze Dave kwijtraakt in het gewoel van een drukke straat, valt Jacky en verzwikt ze haar enkel. Ze wordt geholpen door Omar, een galante, knappe Egyptenaar. Het is liefde op het eerste gezicht. Hij neemt haar mee naar huis, waar Jacky gastvrij door de familie wordt ontvangen. Binnen tien dagen trouwt ze met Omar. Daarna keert ze terug naar haar ouders in Engeland. Tegen het advies van haar ouders in reist ze terug naar Cairo en bekeert zich tot de islam. Hoewel ze hoopvol is en vol plannen zit, verandert Jackys droom in een verstikking. Zes jaar lang mishandelt Omar haar en pleegt hij emotionele chantage. Dan beslist Jacky met haar twee kleine dochters te ontsnappen, maar hoe? Jacky Trevane leeft in Engeland onder de schaduw van een doodsbedreiging. Ze moet zichzelf en haar dochters elke minuut van de dag beschermen, want de Fatwa houdt nog steeds stand. Vandaar dat ze haar waargebeurde, traumatische verhaal onder pseudoniem schreef. Fatwa is een huiveringwekkende leeservaring in de traditie van Not without my daughter.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
30 people are currently reading
1217 people want to read
About the author
Jacky Trevane
6 books12 followersJacky Trevane is the pseudonym of Jennifer Anne, a British woman who ran away from her Egyptian husband in 1992.With the help of ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow she published the book Fatwa: Living with a Death Threat, describing her version of her life with her Egyptian Muslim husband Maged (in her book called Omar). Jacky was twenty-three when she arrived in Egypt for a holiday with her boyfriend, Dave. Separated from Dave in a bustling street, she fell and twisted her ankle, only to be swept up by a young handsome, chivalrous Egyptian. It was, she says in her book, love at first sight. She married him, converted to Islam and lived with him in a poor suburb of Cairo. The couple bore two daughters. Their marriage, however, turned sour and Jennifer decided to return back to England. She says a fatwa was issued against her and is thus "living in the shadow of a death threat." The Egyptian publication Al-Fajr spoke with Jennifer's husband, providing a different story and denying many of the claims Jennifer made.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
May 14, 2022
Supporting a shelter for abused women for years I know what I have seen first hand but this is the first book I have read such as this. I'm not in any position to judge the accuracy or embellishment from a book.
I winced and hoped this woman would leave throughout the book until she finally heard me.
A girl from a completely opposite culture in England meets and marries a man in Egypt.
We are told his culture is a mans world; women are for bearing children. If there were a divorce, the wife and as a mother will have no rights.
///
Can someone explain this to me.... How is it, that a woman can become so obsessed with a man that she allows herself to be physically and verbally beaten by her husband for years- to the point of almost dying. He evidently knocked her self respect out the window.
3.5
The book deserves a 4.0 - If it can help at least one woman who finds herself in a precarious situation such as this; where they are able to walk away with their head held high.
I winced and hoped this woman would leave throughout the book until she finally heard me.
A girl from a completely opposite culture in England meets and marries a man in Egypt.
We are told his culture is a mans world; women are for bearing children. If there were a divorce, the wife and as a mother will have no rights.
///
Can someone explain this to me.... How is it, that a woman can become so obsessed with a man that she allows herself to be physically and verbally beaten by her husband for years- to the point of almost dying. He evidently knocked her self respect out the window.
3.5
The book deserves a 4.0 - If it can help at least one woman who finds herself in a precarious situation such as this; where they are able to walk away with their head held high.
March 19, 2022
A shocking true life story of Jackie Trevane's life as a wife to a brutally abusive Muslim in Egypt, in the early and mid 1980s and the horrors she suffered under his heel. Eventually she fled to Israel and form there back to her native England with her two young daughters.
A timely warning to all women who would visit Muslim countries and enter into relationships with the men there. Uncovers the sheer horror of Islamic treatment, of women. The fate suffered by white western women and girls is particularly horrific, as white women are seen as particularly worthless. Now these things are happening in Britain and Europe to working class women and girls (some mere children) who would never have even had the resources to exotic destinations but are subjected to this in their own towns and cities.
A timely warning to all women who would visit Muslim countries and enter into relationships with the men there. Uncovers the sheer horror of Islamic treatment, of women. The fate suffered by white western women and girls is particularly horrific, as white women are seen as particularly worthless. Now these things are happening in Britain and Europe to working class women and girls (some mere children) who would never have even had the resources to exotic destinations but are subjected to this in their own towns and cities.
March 24, 2018
Wat een heftig verhaal zeg. Ik bleef wel steeds denken ‘mens, ga toch weg bij hem! Ren hard weg nu het nog kan!’
Ondanks dat het verhaal heel heftig is, leest het makkelijk weg.
Ondanks dat het verhaal heel heftig is, leest het makkelijk weg.
May 6, 2018
The premise of this book is good. I did have few issues with how it was told apparently. This book gave a vibe that it is written by someone whose a borderline racist and a religious bigot. She made such an overgeneralization statements of egyptians, muslims culture and islamic country as if we are all the same as the husband she married to. In addition to that, the condescending remarks about foods , toilet and weather is just way out of line though I had to give her props for being honest. The Fatwa definition stated by the author herself should already stopped me from finishing this book but i overlooked it. However, I'm truly sympathetic of how life turned out for her and nobody should ever go through her pain and suffering. She was indeed a brave and strong woman.
May 21, 2025
A book I couldn't put down! The story captivated me and I felt for Jacky and what she had to endure to save her daughters and herself. As she says herself, this could have happened to anyone. Swept away by Prince Charming, believing in love and wanting to start over in a new country without thinking it through. There are most likely 1000's of women out there going through the same.
December 30, 2022
4/5 Dit was vroeger één van mijn favoriete boeken en ik geloof dat ik het wel 10 keer heb gelezen. Ik vind het heel boeiend om te lezen hoe Jacky verliefd wordt en weet te overleven in nare omstandigheden. Plus is het best vloeiend geschreven, waardoor het verhaal lekker wegleest.
September 3, 2009
Oh, patriarchy infuriates me--although that was not all of the problems that "Jacky" faced. I don't understand "man's inhumanity to [wo:]man"! Quick read.
March 23, 2023
Żadna książka do tej pory tak mną nie wtrząsnęła
July 11, 2017
Ik geef niet graag een waardering aan persoonlijke getuigenissen, maar hier dan toch maar.
Dit verslag is heel vlot en dynamisch geschreven, en leest dan ook als een trein.
Inhoudelijk moet ik zeggen dat de schrijfster getuigt van ongelofelijke naïviteit, zowel in de manier waarop ze in die huwelijksboot stapt als in de manier waarop ze zich laat "afmaken" door haar superbrutale echtgenoot.
Is dit verhaal dan representatief voor de man-vrouw verhouding in Egypte of de islamwereld? Misschien wel, maar hoogst waarschijnlijk niet.
Overal in de wereld zijn er huwelijken waar de man zijn vrouw gewelddadig onder de duim houdt, of zelfs omgekeerd.
Los daarvan kan ik alleen maar zeggen dat dit werk voldoende aangrijpend is om te leiden tot reflectie over elke vorm van partnergeweld.
Dit verslag is heel vlot en dynamisch geschreven, en leest dan ook als een trein.
Inhoudelijk moet ik zeggen dat de schrijfster getuigt van ongelofelijke naïviteit, zowel in de manier waarop ze in die huwelijksboot stapt als in de manier waarop ze zich laat "afmaken" door haar superbrutale echtgenoot.
Is dit verhaal dan representatief voor de man-vrouw verhouding in Egypte of de islamwereld? Misschien wel, maar hoogst waarschijnlijk niet.
Overal in de wereld zijn er huwelijken waar de man zijn vrouw gewelddadig onder de duim houdt, of zelfs omgekeerd.
Los daarvan kan ik alleen maar zeggen dat dit werk voldoende aangrijpend is om te leiden tot reflectie over elke vorm van partnergeweld.
Read
April 3, 2024It‘s difficult for me to rate this book. On the one hand, it was very intriguing and I read it very fast. It’s very interesting and sometimes sad what she writes about Egypt like how difficult it is to get vaccines. On the other hand I find her writing very racist. At the end she even says something like don’t start a relationship with a foreigner which is not the message her book or any book should send.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2024
A story that I found implausible at first, but the author drew me in.
June 8, 2024
hmmm
October 19, 2011
In 1979 Jacky gets separated from her boyfriend in Egypt. Alone,injured, she is rescued by two Egyptian men whose family look after her for the rest of the holiday. By the time the holiday is over, she has married Omar and she prepares for a new life with him in Egypt, to the horror of her family. But after the wedding, the dream soon becomes a nightmare and Jacky is subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse and decides she and her children must run away.
OK, I can't even start to talk about the stupidity of Jacky. She and her boyfriend arrived in Egypt with no hotel booked, no idea where they were going and make the insane decision to get on the first bus that came along having no idea where it was going. Then the pair get separated as they both try to get off the overcrowded bus and Jacky is left at the side of a road in a residential area with a twisted ankle. Clever. Enter the dashing, charming Omar who looks after her during the holiday and is her husband within 10 days of meeting. This was not smart thinking by anyone's standard!!!
I admit that Jacky's boyfriend was no big prize as he only started looking for her after 7 days when his new drinking buddies left the country. What a stand up guy! I'd have loved to see the look on his face on the flight home when Jacky told him she was now married to someone else! That was certainly amusing.
I might mock her decision making but you have to have a very hard heart not to have sympathy for the life she ended up living. Yes she should have made sure that she knew exactly what beliefs her husband had, what lifestyle he expected her to conform to and what was expected of a Muslim wife. But nobody deserves the abuse that she was subjected to including being beaten by her husband because she was raped by his brother. That sickened me and so did the beating that caused her to lose her baby.
So Jacky, with help from the British embassy and her schoolteacher friends, hatches a plan to escape into Israel for a flight to the UK. This part of the book was full of tension and you can really feel the fear in her, knowing that if she is caught she will be killed.
You do know the outcome of her escape before you open the book as the back cover tells you that she escapes back to England, which is annoying, but you can guess that if she didn't escape there would be no book at all. I did skim through the early parts of the book which dragged a bit as it was focusing on her romance.
This book serves as a warning to all western women about marrying abroad. I'm not saying that all marriages to Muslim men will be like this, as obviously that is not true and many are happy in their new life. I'd just advise that you must be sure you know exactly what you are getting into before you do it.
OK, I can't even start to talk about the stupidity of Jacky. She and her boyfriend arrived in Egypt with no hotel booked, no idea where they were going and make the insane decision to get on the first bus that came along having no idea where it was going. Then the pair get separated as they both try to get off the overcrowded bus and Jacky is left at the side of a road in a residential area with a twisted ankle. Clever. Enter the dashing, charming Omar who looks after her during the holiday and is her husband within 10 days of meeting. This was not smart thinking by anyone's standard!!!
I admit that Jacky's boyfriend was no big prize as he only started looking for her after 7 days when his new drinking buddies left the country. What a stand up guy! I'd have loved to see the look on his face on the flight home when Jacky told him she was now married to someone else! That was certainly amusing.
I might mock her decision making but you have to have a very hard heart not to have sympathy for the life she ended up living. Yes she should have made sure that she knew exactly what beliefs her husband had, what lifestyle he expected her to conform to and what was expected of a Muslim wife. But nobody deserves the abuse that she was subjected to including being beaten by her husband because she was raped by his brother. That sickened me and so did the beating that caused her to lose her baby.
So Jacky, with help from the British embassy and her schoolteacher friends, hatches a plan to escape into Israel for a flight to the UK. This part of the book was full of tension and you can really feel the fear in her, knowing that if she is caught she will be killed.
You do know the outcome of her escape before you open the book as the back cover tells you that she escapes back to England, which is annoying, but you can guess that if she didn't escape there would be no book at all. I did skim through the early parts of the book which dragged a bit as it was focusing on her romance.
This book serves as a warning to all western women about marrying abroad. I'm not saying that all marriages to Muslim men will be like this, as obviously that is not true and many are happy in their new life. I'd just advise that you must be sure you know exactly what you are getting into before you do it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2012
I just read this book, some 8 years after publication. Fatwa is a very interesting book, a quick and easy read, that really underscores the difference between the Western and the Middle Eastern cultures.
Although I was dismayed at the impulsive decisions Jacky made on her path to a quick marriage with her handsome Egyptian, she did a good job of portraying that youthful, naive, excitement of falling in love with a tall dark stranger in an exotic land; a scenario that any young girl who believes that love can conquer all, might have a hard time resisting. And isn't that the fairy tale we all grew up believing? It must have seemed very alluring to Jacky. This all took place before the advent of personal computers and our current standard of global communication, so I suppose it is logical to assume she had very little idea of the plight of women in some countries at the time, although her parents seemed to understand.
Her day to day struggles were constant and exhausting. Living with his family, the heat, the lack of mod cons that we westerners are accustomed to having. This is what I found most interesting, the daily routine of a different culture...Arabic and Islamic customs, the role of women, shopping and food preparation, the recurrent call to prayer, the multigenerational family dynamics, what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in their religious society, and that concept of protecting and isolating women which seems so possesive and oppressive and slavish to us, but which has become a familiar backdrop to stories like Jacky's, stories of poverty in the third world and developing nations, and the common thread of abuse towards women. I was disappointed that her life since then was comprised into one final chapter. The real success of her story comes in surviving and thriving after her escape, and while under the threat of a fatwa, which we really heard very little about.
Although I was dismayed at the impulsive decisions Jacky made on her path to a quick marriage with her handsome Egyptian, she did a good job of portraying that youthful, naive, excitement of falling in love with a tall dark stranger in an exotic land; a scenario that any young girl who believes that love can conquer all, might have a hard time resisting. And isn't that the fairy tale we all grew up believing? It must have seemed very alluring to Jacky. This all took place before the advent of personal computers and our current standard of global communication, so I suppose it is logical to assume she had very little idea of the plight of women in some countries at the time, although her parents seemed to understand.
Her day to day struggles were constant and exhausting. Living with his family, the heat, the lack of mod cons that we westerners are accustomed to having. This is what I found most interesting, the daily routine of a different culture...Arabic and Islamic customs, the role of women, shopping and food preparation, the recurrent call to prayer, the multigenerational family dynamics, what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in their religious society, and that concept of protecting and isolating women which seems so possesive and oppressive and slavish to us, but which has become a familiar backdrop to stories like Jacky's, stories of poverty in the third world and developing nations, and the common thread of abuse towards women. I was disappointed that her life since then was comprised into one final chapter. The real success of her story comes in surviving and thriving after her escape, and while under the threat of a fatwa, which we really heard very little about.
May 18, 2018
Sixteen years I’ve now lived in the Middle East and it took me ten years just to get a copy of this book, yes I’ve been counting or at least the sign up date has!
This story is a very sad one and it’s one that I’ve seen many times myself and that doesn’t even delve into Muslim marriages between nationals. Domestic violence is an accepted part of family life for many, it would be unfair to say all but it is so paramount that it can be counted on and not discounted in any union you might come across.
In Israel for example there are more Arab women killed in any given year due to honor killings than any yearlong totals of terrorist attacks. This truth remains buried because I feel it is not relevant for anyone’s story that they wish to tell.
The authoress is plain and simple stupid. If it wasn’t so tragic I would white wash the whole thing down to being young & giddy but she had been living with a man for three years, grew up in a middle income household and was in her twenties when she decided to marry a man after five days while technically involved with another man who admittedly was the stereotypical British man at this point of history.
From what I could gather from what she discloses she knew precious little about Egypt, Islam, Muslims and travel in general when she embarked on this trip and this is something I see true in today’s youth- very privileged but clueless.
In a perfect world I would make young women setting out on trips read poignant books such as this one in hopes of making a sobering impact.
This story is a very sad one and it’s one that I’ve seen many times myself and that doesn’t even delve into Muslim marriages between nationals. Domestic violence is an accepted part of family life for many, it would be unfair to say all but it is so paramount that it can be counted on and not discounted in any union you might come across.
In Israel for example there are more Arab women killed in any given year due to honor killings than any yearlong totals of terrorist attacks. This truth remains buried because I feel it is not relevant for anyone’s story that they wish to tell.
The authoress is plain and simple stupid. If it wasn’t so tragic I would white wash the whole thing down to being young & giddy but she had been living with a man for three years, grew up in a middle income household and was in her twenties when she decided to marry a man after five days while technically involved with another man who admittedly was the stereotypical British man at this point of history.
From what I could gather from what she discloses she knew precious little about Egypt, Islam, Muslims and travel in general when she embarked on this trip and this is something I see true in today’s youth- very privileged but clueless.
In a perfect world I would make young women setting out on trips read poignant books such as this one in hopes of making a sobering impact.
November 11, 2009
The minute I picked this book up I was hooked! I stayed up late into the night reading and would have stayed up all night if I didn't have kids to get up for school. This is one of the best books I have read in a while.
In the begining I was a little judgmental toward Jacky's decisions. She married someone she hardly knows, left behind everything familiar to her, and went to live in a culture she knew nothing about. After a while though I began to understand why she had agreed to marry him. I could understand her not wanting to live her life asking, "what if"?
This is a really good book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat with your eyes flying across the page to see how Jacky will overcome all the obstacles and make it out of Egypt with both of her daughters.
In the begining I was a little judgmental toward Jacky's decisions. She married someone she hardly knows, left behind everything familiar to her, and went to live in a culture she knew nothing about. After a while though I began to understand why she had agreed to marry him. I could understand her not wanting to live her life asking, "what if"?
This is a really good book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat with your eyes flying across the page to see how Jacky will overcome all the obstacles and make it out of Egypt with both of her daughters.
October 17, 2017
I like the wording technique (back-forward of time), the way of narration -a biography-. the vocabularies are simple as non-native English can understand it deeply, the story full of small details it made me a a part of story, seeing what she see, feeling what she feel.
The story is made me unhappy as I'm from Egypt the place of actions, however I fully sympathy with Jacky/Halah, therefore if I saw Jacky of here daughters, I shall apologize to them.
The story is made me unhappy as I'm from Egypt the place of actions, however I fully sympathy with Jacky/Halah, therefore if I saw Jacky of here daughters, I shall apologize to them.
September 5, 2007
The moral of the book is don't rush into a marriage - and even more so when they are a foreigner.
The book highlights the difficulties of life in Egypt and the culture shock for those of us from the UK where we take so much for granted.
The book highlights the difficulties of life in Egypt and the culture shock for those of us from the UK where we take so much for granted.
April 9, 2013
Very easy to read, sadly tells a very common story of abuse. Proud Jacky found the inner strength & courage she needed to escape. Oppression & abuse of woman in any country is dispicable. Religion & culture aside, Omar followed typical patterns of a controlling, violent man.
October 5, 2025
Il n'y a pour moi rien de plus évident au monde que le fait que ce livre traite de la bêtise humaine.
Quoi de plus théâtrale que de se marier avec un homme rencontrer en vacances dans un pays étranger (et musulman?) que vous ne connaissez que depuis 1 semaine ???
Maybe that Love is trully Blind 🤭😒
Je n'arrive pas à croire que c'est une histoire vraie, et je me demande comment cette femme a fait pour être aussi aveugle.
Comment une femme ayant grandis en Europe, avec tout ce que cela implique, a pu se retrouver dans une situation pareille ?? Ce n'est pas comme si la société occidentale recommandait les hommes étrangers...
Je ne m'exprimerai pas sur le choix de cette femme d'écrire "Mahomet" (l'indigne de louange) en parlant du Prophète alors même qu'elle a vécu dans un pays musulman et qu'elle a (selon ses dires) prit conscience de l'importance de la religion pour les musulmans.
Si son (ex)mari musulman n'a pas été digne, le Prophète lui... n'a rien demandé.
Son mari et sa famille lui ont fait du mal (indéniablement), mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi utiliser ce terme comme pour montrer l'aversion que tout cela lui a apporté ?
J'ai peiné en me disant qu'une vraie femme a vécu tout cela et que derrière ses actes absurdes et irréfléchis, se cache une femme qui a vraiment souffert. Mais il m'est compliqué de compatir pour quelqu'un qui a fait un choix au départ, consciencieusement, alors même que l'évidence pointait..
C'est surtout à cause de ce sentiment que j'ai eu du mal...
Quoi de plus théâtrale que de se marier avec un homme rencontrer en vacances dans un pays étranger (et musulman?) que vous ne connaissez que depuis 1 semaine ???
Maybe that Love is trully Blind 🤭😒
Je n'arrive pas à croire que c'est une histoire vraie, et je me demande comment cette femme a fait pour être aussi aveugle.
Comment une femme ayant grandis en Europe, avec tout ce que cela implique, a pu se retrouver dans une situation pareille ?? Ce n'est pas comme si la société occidentale recommandait les hommes étrangers...
Je ne m'exprimerai pas sur le choix de cette femme d'écrire "Mahomet" (l'indigne de louange) en parlant du Prophète alors même qu'elle a vécu dans un pays musulman et qu'elle a (selon ses dires) prit conscience de l'importance de la religion pour les musulmans.
Si son (ex)mari musulman n'a pas été digne, le Prophète lui... n'a rien demandé.
Son mari et sa famille lui ont fait du mal (indéniablement), mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi utiliser ce terme comme pour montrer l'aversion que tout cela lui a apporté ?
J'ai peiné en me disant qu'une vraie femme a vécu tout cela et que derrière ses actes absurdes et irréfléchis, se cache une femme qui a vraiment souffert. Mais il m'est compliqué de compatir pour quelqu'un qui a fait un choix au départ, consciencieusement, alors même que l'évidence pointait..
C'est surtout à cause de ce sentiment que j'ai eu du mal...
October 11, 2024
i had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t story but a partial autobiography of someone’s life. i only say that because, with all due respect, it reads like a poorly written wattpad novel. bad writing aside, i found some things quite hard to understand. being a 23 year old myself, the naivety of Jacky was quite excruciating to witness. there is a lot that isn’t really delved into - like why jacky was so easily convinced to marry a guy when only moments before she was resolute against it, and the extreme denial she found herself in throughout her experiences. there is much to question here, but little insight or hindsight on jacky’s behalf.
understandably her bad experiences has really skewed her on certain things but there are many harmful comments about islam with no clarification or distinction that most of these things are cultural rather than religious- those uneducated to islam are vulnerable to believing some of these things and creating a dangerous narrative. again, there is no reflection on any of this, just a lot of unhealed trauma.
regardless of her poor choices that found her in such a situation, nobody deserves the abuse and hardship she had to endure and despite it taking the realisation that her daughters weren’t going to have the same freedoms as a child as she did, rather than the fact that her ex-husband was horrifically violent towards them, it was a very brave thing to escape as she did.
understandably her bad experiences has really skewed her on certain things but there are many harmful comments about islam with no clarification or distinction that most of these things are cultural rather than religious- those uneducated to islam are vulnerable to believing some of these things and creating a dangerous narrative. again, there is no reflection on any of this, just a lot of unhealed trauma.
regardless of her poor choices that found her in such a situation, nobody deserves the abuse and hardship she had to endure and despite it taking the realisation that her daughters weren’t going to have the same freedoms as a child as she did, rather than the fact that her ex-husband was horrifically violent towards them, it was a very brave thing to escape as she did.
October 23, 2022
3,5 STARS - REREAD
It was good - tragic actually - but it was good because it was a true story, but it wasn't well written, maybe it was the translation, I don't know.
The beginning was rich in detail, we get to know Jacky and her boyfriend who travel to Egypt.
Anyway... The middle and the ending of the book were lacking in detail. The author was racing like she couldn't wait to finish writing. Which I somehow understand, it must have been painfull.
So... While they're somewhere in Cairo the boyfriend gets lost, Jacky falls on the street, hurts her foot, gets some help from an Egyptian, falls in love... BANG! They live a perfect life until something changes. He becomes possessive, abusive, wants to change her, tell her what to wear, what to believe in.
We already know that kind of stories, there are thousands of women who fall in love with a handsome man from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco... And are in danger at some point. (Of course you can't assume that every Arab man is abusive.) Like the author, who was brave enough to write a story about what she have been through.
It was good - tragic actually - but it was good because it was a true story, but it wasn't well written, maybe it was the translation, I don't know.
The beginning was rich in detail, we get to know Jacky and her boyfriend who travel to Egypt.
Anyway... The middle and the ending of the book were lacking in detail. The author was racing like she couldn't wait to finish writing. Which I somehow understand, it must have been painfull.
So... While they're somewhere in Cairo the boyfriend gets lost, Jacky falls on the street, hurts her foot, gets some help from an Egyptian, falls in love... BANG! They live a perfect life until something changes. He becomes possessive, abusive, wants to change her, tell her what to wear, what to believe in.
We already know that kind of stories, there are thousands of women who fall in love with a handsome man from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco... And are in danger at some point. (Of course you can't assume that every Arab man is abusive.) Like the author, who was brave enough to write a story about what she have been through.
November 3, 2025
This book follows a woman’s whirlwind romance in Egypt & its transition into a abusive marriage as she fights to protect herself and her children.
I never really understood what compelled people to stay in abusive relationships, so I appreciated this book for its ability to highlight the internal thought processes of the abused.
It's easy to dismiss Trevane as naive, but I think Trevane captures the emotional confusion of these relationships well. She wanted to believe in the version of her husband she first fell for, and in so doing, became complicit in her own abuse.
I'm not surprised by how often Trevane wrote things off as cultural differences (after all, we all seek to be respectful people, especially towards the people we love), but that, in itself, raises some questions I'm still thinking about: Where do we draw the line between cultural respect and personal boundaries? When does honoring someone else’s culture start to erode your own identity?
I never really understood what compelled people to stay in abusive relationships, so I appreciated this book for its ability to highlight the internal thought processes of the abused.
It's easy to dismiss Trevane as naive, but I think Trevane captures the emotional confusion of these relationships well. She wanted to believe in the version of her husband she first fell for, and in so doing, became complicit in her own abuse.
I'm not surprised by how often Trevane wrote things off as cultural differences (after all, we all seek to be respectful people, especially towards the people we love), but that, in itself, raises some questions I'm still thinking about: Where do we draw the line between cultural respect and personal boundaries? When does honoring someone else’s culture start to erode your own identity?
May 28, 2017
I'd been given this book by my mum who had pre warned me she had read it in a day, so I knew it was going to be one I would not be able to put down! I read it while on holiday and in the first day I read 100 pages - the simply turned themselves. I like the way it reverses the events starting with leaving and then skipping back to explain the reasons why. All the time you are reading this story you feel a sense of the danger that faces Jacky both at the time and still to this day. You celebrate he victories with her, however small and stress with her through the bad times. She explains she wrote this book to both explain her tale to her children and grandchildren as well as hopefully stop this happening to just one other person - just wonderful. I'd definitely recommend reading it, but first clear your calendar for the next few days!
July 27, 2020
This was leant to me by a friend. I finished it in 2 days.
Jacky's experiences are horrific as are that of some of the friends she talks about. Far from being a thing of the past, for many women and girls these experiences are still a daily reality from which they have either yet to escape from or haven't been able to.
It really was a miracle Jacky managed to escape, so many things could have gone wrong on the day she left.
At the end of the book Jacky says part of the reason she wrote the book was to warn other girls on the brink of entering what she herself entered. I do hope this has been the case, even for one girl.
Jacky's experiences are horrific as are that of some of the friends she talks about. Far from being a thing of the past, for many women and girls these experiences are still a daily reality from which they have either yet to escape from or haven't been able to.
It really was a miracle Jacky managed to escape, so many things could have gone wrong on the day she left.
At the end of the book Jacky says part of the reason she wrote the book was to warn other girls on the brink of entering what she herself entered. I do hope this has been the case, even for one girl.
September 12, 2022
I read this book a few years ago, being new to good reads I had to search for it on here and write a review.
I think about this book all the time years after reading it! A shocking and heartbreaking real life story, it starts with love but turns into a story of extremely dark and horrific abuse. If anyone asks me to recommend a good book this is always at the top of the list!
This book broke my heart and I felt Jacky’s pain with every word written. I admire her so much for her strength and courage to get through such a traumatic experience and to then go on to tell her story.
A fantastic book, definitely have a read!
I think about this book all the time years after reading it! A shocking and heartbreaking real life story, it starts with love but turns into a story of extremely dark and horrific abuse. If anyone asks me to recommend a good book this is always at the top of the list!
This book broke my heart and I felt Jacky’s pain with every word written. I admire her so much for her strength and courage to get through such a traumatic experience and to then go on to tell her story.
A fantastic book, definitely have a read!
June 20, 2020
A straightforward timeline account of a young woman living and leaving Egypt, and the culture shock she experienced being married to an Egyptian man.
There's always a question in these stories of how much is fully true, and how much of it is the retelling of a 'bitter ex'.
It's written almost as a novel, and a couple of times I had to go check if this is really a true story. Apparently it is, so we must put the writing style down to the ghost writer's skills. It's probably a good thing, as it makes the book an easy, quick read.
There's always a question in these stories of how much is fully true, and how much of it is the retelling of a 'bitter ex'.
It's written almost as a novel, and a couple of times I had to go check if this is really a true story. Apparently it is, so we must put the writing style down to the ghost writer's skills. It's probably a good thing, as it makes the book an easy, quick read.
January 27, 2023
this book gave me the urge to scream at Jacky , "what the hellllll were you thinking???"" really..marrying someone you new knew for few days.....A part of me pittied her but large part of me just didnt understand her at all.
her quick choices, decisions and in general naivity made me really angry.
I did however love how she came around at the end to fight for her two daughters and rooted for her to make it to UK .
she is a lucky one to be reunited with her family!
Book was good, factual , strait forward and very raw !
her quick choices, decisions and in general naivity made me really angry.
I did however love how she came around at the end to fight for her two daughters and rooted for her to make it to UK .
she is a lucky one to be reunited with her family!
Book was good, factual , strait forward and very raw !
June 24, 2024
2,5 stars.
Ze was heel dapper om te vluchten met haar 2 kleine meisjes, maar ik had heel veel moeite met hoe ze binnen 10 dagen een man leerde kennen en met hem trouwde.
Ze had nog een vriend met wie ze al drie jaar een relatie had. Dan ineens een andere man leerde kennen, nauwelijks met hem gesproken (ze sprak geen Arabisch en hij sprak geen Engels, ze communiceerden in het Frans, wat hij ook niet heel goed kon spreken) en dan was ze getrouwd?!
I mean, hoe dom kan je zijn?
Wat had ze verwacht?!
Ze kende de cultuur niet eens!!
Ze was heel dapper om te vluchten met haar 2 kleine meisjes, maar ik had heel veel moeite met hoe ze binnen 10 dagen een man leerde kennen en met hem trouwde.
Ze had nog een vriend met wie ze al drie jaar een relatie had. Dan ineens een andere man leerde kennen, nauwelijks met hem gesproken (ze sprak geen Arabisch en hij sprak geen Engels, ze communiceerden in het Frans, wat hij ook niet heel goed kon spreken) en dan was ze getrouwd?!
I mean, hoe dom kan je zijn?
Wat had ze verwacht?!
Ze kende de cultuur niet eens!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
Goed boek en leest heel snel weg dus je hebt hem zomaar uit. Wel dacht ik even dat het fictie was. Je kent een man amper 5 dagen, gaat trouwen, kent zijn achternaam niet eens en ze hebben niet eens besproken waar ze gaan wonen en hoe ze rond gaan komen. Heel erg naïef, daardoor dacht ik dat het dus fictie was.
Wel heel gruwelijk allemaal zonder twijfel en wat een held is ze, haar kinderen meenemen en vluchten.
Wel heel gruwelijk allemaal zonder twijfel en wat een held is ze, haar kinderen meenemen en vluchten.
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